Carson Kitchen’s New Addition Cuts Down on Wait Times

Anyone who’s eaten at Carson Kitchen during the dinner rush knows it gets a little crowded. But, as of October 9, diners now have a little more room to stretch out.

The restaurant recently expanded into the neighboring building. Owner Cory Harwell says there were a few reasons for the remodel.

“We wanted a true, real bar [where] people could meet, sit and have a drink, even if they weren’t dining,” he says.

The old space was so pinched for seats, diners were often seated at the bar.

The old bar was demolished. Now a seven-seat bar sits inside the adjacent space that housed Black Spade Tattoo, which moved to Container Park. The remodel added an additional 500-square-feet to the restaurant; the restaurant now has a total of 4,000-square-feet.

Photos by Krystal Ramirez

The second reason for the expansion was to have a larger entrance and waiting area. “There was no real room to mingle; barely any room to turn around,” Harwell says. The old entrance placed patrons directly inside, sometimes hovering over nearby diners. The window image of Kerry Simon has been removed and turned into double doors leading into the new foyer. Now they’ve created that sense of arrival Harwell was aiming for and added an additional 24 seats. The restaurant now sits up to 120 guests inside and outside, which has made wait times shorter.

Finally, Harwell says they wanted to maintain the same energy and atmosphere of the old space. “The butcher block countertops took an absolute beating,” Harwell says, so those have been replaced. Everything else, including the outdoor patios and seasonal menu concept, remain the same.